Door swinging device which makes it possible to move heavy doors with a reduced effort

ABSTRACT

883,281. Doors. COMMISSARIAT A L&#39;ENERGIE ATOMIQUE. May 1, 1959 [May 6, 1958], No. 14935/59. Class 20(3) [Also in Groups XXV and XXXIV] Each member of a pair of heavy doors, e.g. for a vault containing radioactive material, is provided with a hydraulic system for lubricating the hinges and withdrawing the bolts (see Group XXV) and comprises a framework of U-beams 21-26 covered on both sides by sheet metal plates 27 and lined with cast lead 29. A dust seal 35 is provided.

R. HAGUET 3,086,257 DOOR swmcmc; DEVICE WHICH MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO MOVE HEAVY DOORS WITH A REDUCED "EFFORT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 9 6 7 w 3 n 2 m n1 d A F Fig.2

April 23, 1963 R. HAGUET 3,036,257

DOOR swmcms DEVICE WHICH MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO MOVE HEAVY DOORS WITH A REDUCED EFFORT 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 27, 1959 Fig.3

April 1963 R. HAGUET 3,086,257

DOOR swmcmc DEVICE WHICH MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO MOVE HEAVY DOORS WITH A REDUCED EFFORT Filed April 27, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 a: a j 35 3A 0 3B Fig.4

United States Patent The present invention relates to a door-swinging device which makes it possible to open and close heavy doors with a reduced effort.

Doors which are used to close vaults or other enclosures containing large quantities of radio-active materials must be provided with very thick lead or concrete protective linings.

The heavy weight of such doors causes large frictional forces between the hinge pins and the hinge plates, and it is diflicult to open and close such doors without the use of motors, counter-weights, etc.

The use of these elements is only justified when the door-s are swung frequently, which is rarely the case when they are employed in plants such as atomic plants, where entry is forbidden.

The device according to the present invention is essentially characterized in that it makes use of a fluid lubricant under variable pressure, which is introduced between the members on which the door is suspended and rotated, namely, between the member-s fixed to the door frame, and the members attached to the door itself; the pressure fluid forms a lubricating layer, which avoids direct contact between the members.

The eifort required to displace a door depends notably on the frictional forces between surfaces which are placed in contact with a pressure which may be very high; by interposing a fluid layer, for example a layer of oil, between these surfaces, the frictional forces, and consequently the effort necessary to swing the door, are considerably reduced.

The device may be employed for doors weighing several tons and it makes it possible to open and close them by exerting a manual force of a few kilograms.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the fluid pressure is provided by a device mounted on the door, for example a piston pump, which is actuated by a hand lever, the lever being also used as a handle to move the door by pulling or pushing it; the fluid under pressure is conveyed by means of conduits in the movable members attached to the door.

According to a particular embodiment, the oil under pressure is equally used to lock and unlock the door by any suitable means such as, for example, hydraulic jacks which act on the locking bolts through the intermediary of levers, the bolts being mounted on the door and being withdrawn into the door when the fluid i-s'at a sufliciently high pressure.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a schematical general view of a door mounted on hinges and provided with the device according to the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a section on an enlarged scale of a hinge such as is used according to the invention;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary front elevation of a door including the device according to the invention; and

FIGURE 4 is a section along line IVIV of FIG- URE 3.

In the drawings only the elements necessary to an understanding of the invention have been included, and the same numerals indicate corresponding elements throughout.

3,086,257 Patented Apr. 23, 1963 ice With reference to FIGURE 1, the door 1 has mounted therein a pump 2, actuated by a hand lever 3 through the intermediary of a linking lever 4. The pump forces oil under pressure into a hydraulic circuit, indicated by thick lines in FIGURE 1, and including a throttle 5 which keeps the circuit under pressure for a lapse of time, after the lever 3 has been actuated.

The oil is supplied on one side to the hydraulic jacks 6A and 6B which act respectively on levers 7A and 7B on the bolts 8A and '8B, which are urged into locking position by springs 9A and 9B; on the other side the oil is fed to the hinge assemblies 10A and 10B.

As shown in detail in FIGURE 2, each hinge assembly comprises a hinge pin 11 in the form of a shaft, which is received on a hinge bearing member 12 in the form of a hollow cylinder, the end of the pin 11 resting on a bearing 13 which may be a ball bearing, it being understood that the balls have a supporting action only when the oil is not under pressure. The pin 11 has a passage 14 therethrough, which is connected to the hydraulic circuit at its upper end. The hinge member 12 is mounted on the door frame by means of an attachment or sealing plate 15. The hinge pin 11 is fixed by means of screws 16 to a sleeve 17 mounted on the door by a plate 18. A packing ring 19, provided with packing joints or segments 20, is screwed on the hinge pin 11 to provide a tight seal for the oil between the pin and the hinge bearing member.

With the door closed, when the lever 3 is actuated, oil pressure is established in the hydraulic circuit. The oil under pressure actuates the jacks 6a and 6b thus unlocking the door by withdrawing the bolts 8a and 8b. Oil under pressure also enters the space between the hinge pin 11 and the hinge bearing member 12. By pulling on the lever 3 the door is opened without encountering any great resistance.

To close the door, the oil circuit is placed under pressure and the door is swung to its closed position. The drop in the oil pressure causes locking of the door.

The locking bolts and the corresponding clasps have a frustoconical form which strictly positions the door, even in cases where a sealing joint must be compressed. The

throttle 5 retards the return of the oil, in such a way that it is not necessary to actuate continuously the lever 3 to maintain the pressure during the swinging of the door. The throttle 5 may be constituted, for example, by a capillary tube, one end of which is connected to the outlet of the pump 2, the other end being connected to the tubing of the hydraulic circuit.

The device according to the invention is utilized for swinging doors which close the sealed enclosures or vaults of plants for the treatment of radio active materials.

Such doors are double, each individual door, as shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, consisting of a framework of U- beams 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26, covered with sheet metal plates 27 on both sides (FIGURE 3 shows the door with the front cover plate removed).

The rear face 28 of the door is covered with a lining 29 of cast lead of sufficient thickness to absorb the radiations emitted by the contents of the vault. The hinge pins 11 are Welded at 30 on the vertical beam 21. The pump is located between the beams 23 and 24, and a shutter 31 is provided for maintenance purposes.

An actuating lever 3A, situated on the front face of the door, is mounted on the cover plate 27; a second actuating lever 3 B, mounted on the cover plate 27 of the rear face of the door is covered by a lead cap 32 provided with a groove 33 in which moves the lever; the two levers actuate the pump in the same manner.

The cap 32', as well as the flange 34, mounted on the beam 22, prevents the propagation to the exterior of ionizing radiations. A dust seal is provided by packing strips 35 located in grooves 36 in the flange 34 and in the wall 37.

Each individual door thus constructed, 2.5 metres high and 0.5 metres wide, weights 3 tons.

It is sufiicient to actuate the control lever five or six times to lift the door by one millimetre, namely, to introduce an oil film of this thickness between the horizontal faces of the hinge pins and of the hinge bearing members. The time during which the door remains raised, without touching the levers 3A or 3B, is 30 seconds. The force exerted on the door, once it is lifted, to open or close the same is 6 kilograms.

The embodiment of the invention which has been illustrated and described is given merely by way of example and various modifications are possible within the scope of the appended claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In combination, a heavy door, hinge assemblies for said door, each of said assemblies comprising a vertically disposed hinge pin fixed to the door, a hollow hinge bearing member surrounding said pin fixed to the door frame, fluid sealing means between said pin and the top of said member, means for supplying a fluid under pressure mounted on said door, and conduit means from said supply means for said fluid, an axial passage through said hinge pin and means connecting said conduit means to said passage.

2. The combination of claim 1, including a throttle mounted in said conduit means to retard the return of fluid when said pressure means are no longer actuated.

3. The combination of claim 1, including locking means for said door and fluid conduit means connecting said locking means with said fluid pressure means, said locking means being adapted to unlock when subjected to said fluid pressure.

4. In a door-door mounting combination, a heavy door, hinge assemblies with horizontal contact surfaces for said door, means on said door for supplying a fluid under pressure to said contact surfaces so as to form a layer of fluid between said surfaces to thereby reduce the effort required to swing said door, at least one manually actuated lever for said supply means mounted on at least one face of said door, locking means for said door and fluid conduit means connecting said locking means with said fluid pressure means, said locking means being adapted to unlock when subjected to fluid pressure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 132,147 Dodge Oct. 15, 1872 2,164,047 Baumann June 27, 1939 2,195,991 Lovett Apr. 2, 1940 2,684,272 Annen July 20, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 331,734 Germany Jan. 14, 1921 708,997 Great Britain May 12, 1954 OTHER REFERENCES Germany, appl. 1,028,903, printed Apr. 24, 1958, (K1 a 33). 

1. IN COMBINATION, A HEAVY DOOR, HINGE ASSEMBLIES FOR SAID DOOR, EACH OF SAID ASSEMBLIES COMPRISING A VERTICALLY DISPOSED HINGE PIN FIXED TO THE DOOR, A HOLLOW HINGE BEARING MEMBER SURROUNDING SAID PIN FIXED TO THE DOOR FRAME, FLUID SEALING MEANS BETWEEN SAID PIN AND THE TOP OF SAID MEMBER, MEANS FOR SUPPLYING A FLUID UNDER PRESSURE MOUNTED ON SAID DOOR, AND CONDUIT MEANS FROM SAID SUPPLY MEANS FOR SAID FLUID, AN AXIAL PASSAGE THROUGH SAID HINGE PIN AND MEANS CONNECTING SAID CONDUIT MEANS TO SAID PASSAGE. 